Stocking the Bar

@Aida that is super cute!

Agreed re: beer and wine and a signature drink. For wine you can just choose a red and a white. For beer, go for a small selection of classics you think your guests would like. Ex. most conferences and things I go to have: Heineken, Heineken Light, Blue Moon, Corona, and maybe one more. No need to do more than 1 light beer IMO.

A lot of places will let you return unopened bottles of liquor. Check into that as well. That way, in case you do have left over bottles, you can get your money back. My suggestions are:

White wine- Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay

Red Wine- Pinot Noir and Cabernet

Beer- 2 light beers and 2 heavier beers

Liquor- Vodka, rum, tequila, gin, whiskey and scotch

Mixers- sodas, orange juice, pineapple juice, cranberry juice, tonic water, margarita mix

Garnishes- lemon, lime and orange wedges

Good luck

@michellew, I would not buy beer too far in advance. It does expire and expired beer is disgusting. I would buy no more than 3 months in advance. (FH used to work for Budweiser, or I would have never thought about beer expiring)

My venue is similar. We are doing beer (miller lite, bud heavy, blue moon, corona, and octoberfest), wine (a red choice & a white choice), rum (bacardi & captain morgan), Tito's vodka, and kahlua. Then for mixers... orange juice, cranberry juice, soda water, cola, diet cola, a lemon/lime soda like sprite. Garnishes: lemons, limes, maybe oranges.

It isn't everything you would find at a bar, but I think it offers plenty of choices for our guests to enjoy.

I had to buy a bunch of liquor for a family reunion, check with your liquor store, you might be able to return unopened bottles. We ended up using all of ours (Cubans, I swear...) but it was nice to know the option was available

I'm doing some beer, some (inexpensive) wine, and then 3-4 liquors and 3-4 mixers, no garnishes probably beyond a lime!